To love or not to love the Samsung Galaxy S6?

As a writer of opinion editorials here on PhoneDog, my job here is solely to have opinions on things. Naturally, as with all opinions, these opinions are subject to change. Sometimes the opinions change, and sometimes they don’t. There’s the initial take on something, and then I’ll often revisit the same subject some days, weeks, months, or even years later and see if I feel the same way.

It’s only been a few weeks since the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S6, but I’m already having differing opinions on the device(s). That’s not to say that I’ve come to conclusion that the exclusion of the removable battery and microSD card slot are now good things – I still wholeheartedly believe that they should have kept these features – but I have to admit, lately I feel conflicted.

I think my knee-jerk reaction to “edges” might have been a little abrasive. The more I look at the design, the more appealing it looks. Maybe it just took getting my toes wet in order for me to actually entertain the idea of looking at a phone with such a design, or maybe I’m just getting bored with plain slab designs for smartphones. Whatever it is, I find that I’m somewhat enamored by the Galaxy S6 Edge rather than the original S6 lately.

The material change that Samsung opted to go for this year when it came to hardware also shines through. I do find both devices to be pleasing to the eye, especially in comparison with previous models of the Galaxy S. I don’t think I had ever considered any other Galaxy devices to be particularly noteworthy when it came to design. I also realize that the Galaxy S6 looks extremely similar to the iPhone 6, but whatever. A good-looking device is a good-looking device; at least Samsung didn’t go with anything really ugly.

Another pleasing fact of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge is that Samsung allows for the removal of their infamous bloatware; whether that feature makes it stateside or not is still up in the air, given that the feature was most likely introduced due to a new law in South Korea stating that smartphone users need to be able to uninstall all applications if they want to. This isn’t a law over here, though, so we still have a while yet to find out for ourselves. Still, we know that it can at least be done, and hopefully Samsung was able to make that happen for all versions of the Galaxy S6.

Finally, it’s a flagship smartphone, which means specs are top notch.

On the flip side of the coin, I really am that disappointed with Samsung taking out the removable battery and the microSD card, and couldn’t implement waterproofing to some extent either. It’s nice that the Galaxy S6 and Edge feature wireless charging and can supposedly charge the phone to 100% in an hour, but being able to swap out my battery and immediately be at 100% in a matter of seconds is a lot more appealing to me. Also, as somebody who likes to root their Androids and mess with different ROMs, having a microSD card for external backup is kind of important to me. Not essential, but definitely important.

At this point I find myself conflicted. Then again, I’ve been mentioning for a couple of years now how I wished that Samsung would change up certain aspects of their Galaxy S devices (namely getting rid of the plastic material for a more premium design), so I guess this is what happens when Samsung listens. It’s definitely not all bad, but there are just certain positive aspects missing that made Samsung stand out from other manufacturers. Now that those features are gone and others (like the Edge design and the supposed ability to remove bloatware) are here, I’m just not quite certain how to feel.

But I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on this device once it releases on April 10. I’m a little skeptical because I still prefer functionality over looks, but I don't consider the Galaxy S6 to be a total waste despite its losses.

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